“Free or Nearly Free” Ottawa in Winter

Visiting Canada’s capital doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. As the temperature drops during the colder Canadian months, Ottawa becomes home to a sparkling winter wonderland where affordable outdoor and indoor activities abound! There are many alternatives for visitors looking to save some cash. If you want to know what to see and do in the Ottawa region with little money, check out this list of free or nearly free activities:

OUTDOORS

From December 5, 2018 to January 7, 2019, stroll around Ottawa’s downtown to see hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights, and head to Parliament Hill for the magical Winter Lightscapes multimedia show projected on Centre Block – all part of the Christmas Lights Across Canada program!

Go skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway. From roughly late December to late February, this UNESCO World Heritage Site freezes and becomes the world’s largest skating rink –as designated by Guinness World Records. Lace up your skates and glide along 7.8 kilometres (4.8 miles) of ice, which provides scenic views of Ottawa’s downtown core. Entry onto the canal is free and it is open 24-hours a day! Skate and sleigh rentals are available on the Skateway during regular business hours.

Go skating on the Sens Rink of Dreams. Located in Marion Dewar Plaza just in front of Ottawa City Hall, this rink offers a longer skating season than the Rideau Canal (roughly December to mid-March) thanks to its refrigerated surface. This rink is free, has a heated change hut, picnic tables and benches. This is a great place to be at night because it is lit up with multi-coloured LED lights. Skate rentals are available during select evening and weekend hours.

Go skating at Skating Court, another refrigerated ice rink located at Lansdowne (just south of Ottawa’s downtown core). Offering a skating season that stretches from roughly December to mid-March, you can enjoy free open skating sessions or learn how to skate in one of its skating programs. Skate rentals are not available at this site.

If you’re visiting Ottawa in February, you won’t want to miss Winterlude. North America’s greatest winter festival takes place over three weekends in February, offering fun and excitement for the whole family. From spectacular ice carvings to an amazing playground made of snow, Winterlude is a great way to take in the best of Ottawa’s Canadian winter.

Go hiking in Gatineau Park. Located just 15 minutes from Ottawa’s downtown core, this beautiful park offers more than 165 kilometres of trails, with most being open year-round. Once the snow falls, 10 kilometres (6 miles) of trails are compacted once a week for winter hiking. The scenic hiking trails are free! Gatineau Park is also a cross-country skier’s dream, though a Cross-Country Ski Pass is required to use the ski trails in the winter season. However, you can…

Go cross-country skiing (and more) in Ottawa, and in the nearby countryside! The popular Sir John A. Macdonald Winter Trail (known locally as the SJAM Trail) grooms tracks for snowshoeing, walking and fat biking for 16 km (10 miles) along the Ottawa River running westward from the Canadian War Museum, near downtown. And the Greenbelt area encircling Ottawa offers over 150 km (93 miles) of cross-country ski trails. You can use the trails for free and all are suitable for beginner and family outings.

Go tobogganing. There are several hills in and around the Ottawa area to suit nearly all ages and preferences. The National Capital Commission (NCC) has set aside three areas suitable for tobogganing in the city’s Greenbelt recreational space:

Bruce Pit (This hill is not lit at night.)

Conroy Pit (Located in the city’s south end, on Conroy Road.)

Green’s Creek (Located just west of Orleans.)

Or if you’re looking to stay closer to the downtown core, visit these tobogganing sites in the Old Ottawa South neighbourhood:

Windsor Park (Located between the Riverdale and Belmont entrances. This site is good for younger children.)

Seneca Avenue (Located near the Rideau Canal. This site is good for younger children.)

Vincent Massey Park (Located near Heron Road.)

Hog’s Back Park (Located near Prince of Wales Drive in Nepean.)

Visit Fulton’s Pancake House and Sugar Bush. Located just outside of Ottawa in Pakenham, Ontario, Fulton’s is worth a visit in the spring to learn all about maple syrup production. Admission is free and you can take advantage of three scenic walking trails: the Children’s Trail (15 minutes), Barney’s Grave Trail (40 minutes) and the Nature Trail (30 minutes). This site also offers a restaurant, a gift shop, a playground, wagon rides, group visits and team building programs.

Go hunting for urban art throughout Ottawa’s diverse neighbourhoods. City spaces are beautified by murals, sculptures and graffiti created by talented artists.

INDOORS

Visit Parliament Hill. Until late January 2019, you can take a free tour of the interior of Parliament’s iconic Centre Block and go up the Peace Tower. When the Centre Block closes to the public for a decade-long rehabilitation (as of February 1st, 2019), two new tours will be offered instead: the House of Commons in Parliament Hill’s West Block, and the Senate in the Senate of Canada Building (Ottawa’s original train station). For details, visit our Parliament Hill free tours and programmingpage.

Visit the free Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG)! The OAG reopened in April 2018 in an impressive, expanded new space. Admire historic and contemporary works associated with the Ottawa region, including from the Group of Seven.

Visit the free Âjagemô art space! See performances, events and exhibitions of contemporary Canadian art, including works from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Enjoy free programming at the National Arts Centre (NAC)! The NAC regularly offers events for all ages including Toddler Tuesdays, Seniors Pop-up Painting, music shows and meditation.

Visit the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride Centre! The RCMP invites visitors to tour the stables and Visitors’ Centre year-round (Tuesdays and Thursdays from September through April; daily from May through August). There is a possibility during a visit of seeing the Musical Ride horses and riders practise when they are not away on tour.

The Bank of Canada Museum (formerly the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada) reopened on July 1, 2017 in a totally renovated building. People of all ages can create their own avatar and learn about the important role they play in the economy through hands-on interactive exhibits. Admission to the museum is always free!

Visit the Royal Canadian Mint! Find out how coins are made, see more than one million dollars’ worth of pure gold and hold a solid gold bar in your hands! It’s free to visit the fun boutique and guided tours of the facility are very affordable.

Visit Rideau Hall. This historic site is home to Canada’s Governor General. The grounds are open daily from 8:00 a.m. to one hour before sunset. Free guided tours tours of the beautiful residence are available by reservation in the winter. And on Saturdays from early January to early March, you can take advantage of a charming skating rink, originally built in 1872 by Canada’s third Governor General, the Earl of Dufferin.

Why not go skating indoors? Various arenas in the City of Ottawa charge a small fee for public skating sessions. Public Skating Information Line – 613-580-2666.

If you’re an Ottawa resident, take advantage of the Museum privilege program at the Ottawa Public Library. The Library loans out family passes to several museums at no charge – all you need is a library card.

AFFORDABLE SIGHTSEEING

Ottawa is a very pedestrian-friendly city, but if you’re looking to venture outside of the downtown core, opt to take the city bus operated by OC Transpo. The OC Transpo DayPass can be purchased for $10.50 CDN and entitles you to unlimited same-day travel on the bus as well as on the O-Train, Ottawa’s light rail project in the west end.